This is the story of ordinary men fighting against changing systems of government and belief, during which two rival forms of Christianity fought violently to become the dominant theology in Scotland, and of how the Presbyterian covenants impelled its followers into a century and a half of discrimination, violence and destruction. Ronald Ireland's account of the bloody history of the era is brought to life by following one ordinary man, James Nicol, a merchant burgess of the royal burgh of Peebles in the Scottish Borders region, who was hanged in 1684 for practicing Presbyterian covenants in the last few years of Episcopalian control of Scotland.

"A fresh, well-researched look at the bloody brawl that defined Scottish history in the years following 1560, up until the settlement of the Church of Scotland.... The author examines the ways in which the conflict between monarchy and church affected the country on a national level, and also considers how it shaped the lives of ordinary citizens. Full of scholarly purpose and intellectual insight, the text draws from a vast range of archival material, while remaining concise, accessible and convincing."—Scottish Field